History of Medical Technology

• The practice of medical technology traces back to ancient times, with early physicians examining patient specimens.
• Urinalysis is the oldest known test, dating back to 4000 BC in Babylon, where the color and consistency of urine were observed.

Pre-Medieval Period Discoveries

• 1500 BC: The Ebers Papyrus described polyuria and intestinal worms and this was confirmed in 1200 BC with calcified helminth eggs in Thebes, Egypt.
• Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine" (460 BC), established ethical standards in medicine through the Hippocratic Oath.
• Rufus of Ephesus identified hematuria (blood in urine).
• Antistius is recognized as the first forensic pathologist, who investigated Julius Caesar's death in 44 BC, noting that only one of the 23 wounds penetrated the chest cavity.
• In 500 AD, the observation of insects in urine led to the term "madhumeba" (honey urine).
• Isaac Judaeus (900 AD) used urine as a diagnostic aid.
• Girolamo Fracastoro proposed the germ theory in the 16th century, later validated by Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur.
• Robert Koch identified the tubercle bacillus, responsible for tuberculosis.

Development of Laboratory Medicine

• 1628: William Harvey described the circulation of blood, and Marcelo Malphigi discovered capillaries.
• Marcelo Malphigi is considered the founder of pathology and was a pioneer in embryology and anatomy.
• Richard Lower performed the first successful blood transfusion in animals in 1665.
• The invention of microscopes marked a significant phase in laboratory medicine in the late 17th century.
• Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek's microscopes led to the discovery of bacteria from teeth scrapings and protozoa from animal intestines (1674).
• Leeuwenhoek also identified spermatozoa in 1677 and red blood cells in 1684.
• Clinical cytology was introduced by Johannes Muller in the 18th and 19th centuries, leading to the study of various types of cancer.
• Rudolf Virchow established the fundamentals of cellular pathology and founded the Archives of Pathology in Berlin in 1847.

20th Century Advances

• Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillium.
• Karl Landsteiner identified the major blood groups in 1901 and established the ABO blood group system in 1940.

History in the Philippines

• 1883: The first Public Health Laboratory (Laboratorio Municipal De Manila) was established during the Spanish colonial era to analyze food, water, and clinical specimens, also involving native Filipinos in medico-legal cases.
• 1921: During the American occupation, public health education was emphasized, leading to the establishment of a School of Hygiene and Public Health.
• 1927: UP became a degree-granting school of hygiene and public health.
• 1939: The Department of Public Health was established.
• The onset of World War II disrupted developments, with the destruction of public health laboratories by Japan.
• After 5 years of conflict, the 26th Medical Laboratory of the 6th United States Army, an advanced clinical laboratory, was established at 208 Quiricada St., Sta. Cruz, Manila in September 1945, becoming the first modern clinical laboratory in the country.
• Following the departure of the 6th US Army, the laboratory was reorganized by Dr. Alfredo Pio De Roda and Dr. Mariano Icasiano into the Manila Public Health Laboratory.
• 1953: Philippine Union College (now Adventist University of the Philippines) offered a 2-year course.
• Dr. Willa Hilgert Hedrick, an American medical practitioner from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, is considered the founder of medical technology education in the Philippines.
• 1954: Dr. Antonio Gabriel and Dr. Gustavo Reyes offered medical technology as an elective for 4th and 5th-year BS Pharmacy students at UST.
• 1955: Dr. Jesse Umali became the first graduate of Medical Technology.
• 1957-1958: Rev. Fr. Lorenzo Rodriguez O.P. contributed to the development of the MT course.
• 1958: A board of registry was established to initiate the Medical Technology course.
• June 17, 1959: The first three years of the MT program were approved.
• June 1960: A four-year Medical Technology curriculum was adopted, including a full-year internship.
• June 14, 1961: The BSMT (Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology) program was approved.
• June 21, 1969: Republic Act No. 5527, also known as the Philippine Medical Technology Act of 1969, was enacted.